How are you feeling? About your world and the future of work?

FEELING:

I AM NOT FEELING WELL. Sadly, I have the lurgy that is going around. And no. It is not covid. I have tested for that. But I am writing this newsletter on the temporal high of a mass of Lemsips and home cold remedies. And the adrenalin of hosting our event for Your FLOCK the team engagement platform.

With our amazing speakers including…

• Laura Herbert of Apadmi.

WINNERS OF BEST PLACE TO WORK MPA AWARD WINNERS 2022

• ?Emma Slater Regional MD of award winning Wavemaker UK

Runners up for the BEST PLACE TO WORK 2022 MPA AWARDS.

• Ian Lenehan of McCann Manchester.

Runners up for the BEST PLACE TO WORK 2022 MPA AWARDS.

• And Christian James of the If Agency.co.uk

Chairman of the MPA - that ran the awards.

Our event had over 350 signs up with these 4 amazing speakers.? Talking about the future of work and employee retention. All coming from award winning companies in this space.

Huge thanks to them. It really cheered me up.

• And it made me feel great.
• And on purpose.
• And with mastery and autonomy.
• And part of a community.
• And kinda like a leader.
• As I was hosting it.
• A servant leader.
• And all this good stuff.

As we discussed the future of work, employee engagement and company cultures.

One of the things the speakers all talked about was a different type of leadership. One that:?

• listens more
• is more empathic
• is more diverse and inclusive. By its very nature.

And that got me thinking. About some of the great work around this.

It seems to be the very opposite of what Elon Muss is doing at the moment. As JULIA HOBSBAWM points out:

“on the turmoil of toxic workplaces with Elon Musk referenced because of course when it comes to bad bosses he really is the gift who keeps on giving....”

Maybe he will be amazing at Twitter. Maybe it will all blow up. Maybe different businesses work in very different ways. And so as Charles Handy always says:

"In a knowledge economy, a good business is a community with a purpose, not a piece of property."

Maybe Elon Musk will find that out soon enough. He might. Especially if he forces all his remaining employees back into the office. Based on his own belief that remote working doesn't work...

Which is odd, and slightly offense thinking, when you look at the data...

But who I am to argue against the richest man in the world and his thinking.

THINKING:

All this also got me thinking about the variety of podcasts I have been very lucky to go on this month. One was about the future of work and web3 with Richard Lowe Managing Director, Hewlett Rand. Who’s Dragonfly Academy is an in-house and in-person top team programme. Listed with the UK Scale Up Institute.? His company helps to drive high performance teams. Upskills leaders and managers for sustainable growth.

It was really interesting to hear his views on this – whilst he was in Hong Kong. And from Ruby Melling based in Manchester. And an Award-Winning Freelance Talent Acquisition & Strategy Consultant for start-up & fast growth businesses. Who gave us some great insights into the next generation's needs around employment and purpose.

And also David Sime from riiot.digital in the UK. Had some eye opening real life stats from the world of education showcasing how VR is now being used. Not surprising as his company provides? E2E Corporate Training in Virtual & Augmented Reality. With IoT Integration and predictive AI models. Leveraging best-in-class data analytics and visualisation for collaboration and Actionable insights.

His work is amazing stuff. Got me thinking perhaps I am in the wrong world…

Another podcast, was with the legend that is Scott McInnes who is Founder & Director of Inspiring Change. (See above) For over 20 years Scott McInnes has worked in-agency and client-side. With brands including

• - Ornua,
• - PA Consulting Group,
• - Hewlett-Packard,
• - Ulster Bank,
• - AIB
• - and London 2012.

Scott is passionate about change. In fact, we met due to the Inspiring Workplaces event last month. He has a strongly held belief that a business's success is driven by its people. Which we believed at Your FLOCK too. And is why Scott founded Inspiring Change. To help organisations connect with their people in a way that’s clear, memorable, inspiring and authentic. I was lucky to be on his podcast – which is coming out next week. Where we talked about a LOT of different things.

He has some amazing questions. Some around the latest findings from Gartner about what leaders are worried about. Which is here.

THE OLD ME / THE YOUNG YOU??

His questions I have popped below with a load of other questions from this week. Sadly, I wasn’t able to attend the panel discussion. And be quizzed by Beth Rigby (who I am a massive fan of) but such is life and perhaps life work balance.

The old me would have gone.

And then I would have been more ill over the weekend.

And then got cross.

The new me just realised that self-care was just as important.

Obviously AFTER doing our event for Your FLOCK the team engagement platform – as that could be done remotely. As we remote first - rather than remote forced.

Which the Beth Rigby event could not be …As face to face and in real life…?

Which might be a metaphor for life at the moment?

“I wonder whether younger people would have braved London in real life experience, even if poorly.”

That’s just one question I have for myself. But here is a list of ALL the questions I have been asked this week. Which I hope will inspire your own thoughts as you answer them.

QUESTIONS:

• As we aren’t in the office as much anymore, many of those deep, meaningful symbols of culture are gone. What do organisations need to do to replicate them in this next phase of work?
• Some of that is around investing in culture. What does that mean practically?? What should they be investing in specifically?
• What role do diagnostics play in helping organisations to meet the ever changing cultural needs of their people?
• What do you believe is the most important thing orgisations should be doing to build strong cultures for the future?
• What can agencies do to improve employee retention? Employee retention is one of the key challenges across the sector now?
• How important do you think the pay is and what else can companies do to attract and retain talent?
• What can individuals do to become happier and more productive at work?
• Which character traits are often sought after in the marketing world but can hinder our progression and happiness?
• We now live in a post-pandemic reality. Most agencies offer hybrid/remote work. How do you make sure employees don’t feel separated or excluded when working remotely?
• Employee wellbeing seems to be this new trend that emerged from the pandemic. Do you think it is here to stay? And how are you embracing this at your agency?
• Will pay and job stability move further up in employees’ expectations with double-digit inflation?
• What are the top three factors you think are likely to have the biggest impact on the future of work?
• How are changing employee expectations creating tension between employees and employers?
• How are changing employee expectations impacting talent attraction and retention?
• How can organisations differentiate their Employee Value Proposition (EVP) to meet a wide range of employee needs? e.g. mission, purpose
• Could a strong, differentiated EVP help mitigate ‘quiet-quitting’ which is a big problem today and tomorrow?
• What does the Future of Work mean for wellbeing and mental health?
• What is the outcome on business performance and culture from our experiments in flexible working?
• What can leaders do to build on the pro and cons we have experienced in flexible working?
• How is technology playing a role in flexible working to level the playing field?
• How can technology be used both as an enabler and aid interactions between colleagues?
• How can leaders drive high performance with modern workforces - that will be hybrid and multi-generational?

Aren’t they great questions?

I hope I answered some of them well - in the podcasts and events I will link to in my next newsletter. And they are all questions we will find out the answers to together. And that, if you are not a team leader, you could ask them too.

As I mention on one of the podcasts:

“The world is no longer black and white. Or even grey. It’s a rainbow of opportunities. The colours of which are different for every individual and organisation.”

It’s our job to work out what the colours are for our teams.

And what they mean… Perhaps this is the biggest opportunity as team leaders.

In the meantime, I am off to recharge and rest. And get over this bout of illness. So on the very day of my 5 year of investing in Your FLOCK - the team engagement platform. Myself and my team can make it more of a success. So we can help a million people be happier at work.

About Your FLOCK.

We investigate individual value profiles in your team. And quickly online collates your true company culture map.

To help managers, bosses and leaders increase working from home happiness, retain key talent and increase remote working team productivity.

www.YourFLOCK.co.uk